I first asked Reece about 12 years ago when I started thinking about this project. We were in the midst of League of Gentlemen and I just remember thinking, if anyone plays Patrick Troughton, it should be Reece. Like the second Doctor, he’s small, saturnine and a comic genius. The complete package. He thought it was a fantastic idea and I've kind of nurtured it all this time.

The actor told his Twitter followers this morning: "Very happy to confirm I am the 2nd Doctor. Very excited to be part of it."

Filming update:

As reported yesterday, cast and crew descended upon Westminster Bridge to record the iconic scene of the Daleks gliding across the bridge, with articles on the shoot published by several media sources, including the BBC, Daily Mail and Express. After these scenes were completed the production moved back to BBC Television Centre, which saw scenes filmed including Brian Cox as Sydney Newman with Jessica Raine as Verity Lambert.